The Denver Nugget had one of the best offseasons in the NBA. They got two bad contracts off their hands and brought four players to add depth to the lineup around Nikola Jokic. There was a three-week span where there was a possibility that one of those players, center Jonas Valanciunas, wasn’t going to end up in Denver when the season started.
After the Nuggets traded away Dario Saric in return for Valanciunas in one of the best deals of the offseason, reports instantly started to swirl that Valanciunas was going to play for Greek basketball club Panathinaikos after they offered him a three-year contract for $12 million annually. Rumors came out that his agent failed to communicate everything with Denver, while the Nuggets said they fully intended him to honor his contract. After years of not having a backup fans, Nuggets fans feared that their answer to the position was going to slip through their fingers.
After three weeks of turmoil, Valanciunas finally put the conversation to rest and confirmed that he would be in Denver and would play for the Nuggets this season. While the Greek fans who had been arguing with Nuggets fans on social media all throughout July weren’t happy about it, Nuggets Nation finally got the answer they were looking for. It took three weeks of stress, but everything worked out in the end.
For anyone who was still skeptical that Valanciunas was actually going to play in Denver, the most official form of confirmation came on Monday ahead of Nuggets Media Day.
Jonas Valančiūnas has made it to the Mile High 😏 pic.twitter.com/DNdXk5wMeD
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) September 29, 2025
You can’t argue with him being posted on the team’s official account walking into Ball Arena.
Monday is the official start of the season for Valanciunas and the Nuggets, and the first preseason game against the Timberwolves is just around the corner on Saturday night. Stay up to date with all the latest news from Nuggets Media Day with Denver Sports.
